What is Keratoconus
Keratoconus Symptoms, Stages, and Treatment Options
What is Keratoconus?
This condition affects your eye, causing your round cornea to shrink exterior into a cone shape. This affects the clarity of your vision. It’s vital to know that it’s pronounced as care-ah-ta-KO-nus. Commonly, eye care providers diagnose keratoconus in your teenage years or the 20s and 30s. Nonetheless, it can also manifest in childhood. Mild cases might be detected at a later phase in your life.
The changes in corneal shape evolve eventually over many years. The more rapid progression is noticed in younger patients. Management and early detection are essential to protect your vision and maintain eye health. Frequent check-ups with an eye care professional are especially recommended. This becomes more important when there’s a family history of keratoconus or if any visual disturbances are observed.
Different Stages of Keratoconus
Treatment for Early Stage
At an early stage, contracts or glasses might allow you to see better. Soft contacts, like toric ones, maybe a good option for sports. New treatments, such as corneal collagen cross-linking, can also help. This process gives strength to your cornea, stopping keratoconus from getting worse. It’s been very rewarding to restrict keratoconus progression. A few eye tests like corneal topography help diagnose keratoconus early so treatment can start.Moderate stage means your cornea is thinner and bulging more into a cone shape. It affects both of your eyes, but one may be worse off. Also, vision issues get worse compared to the early stage.
Treatment for Moderate Stage
Scleral lenses are the ideal choice for patients in the moderate stage because they provide sharper vision compared to glasses. These lenses are designed to leap over your cornea. This creates a space filled with tears between your eye and the lens. This design corrects around 95% of the corneal deformation and offers a smooth, stiff surface over your cornea.
The advanced stage is more serious. The cornea is thinner and even more out of its actual shape. That’s why diagnosing keratoconus early on and treating it straight away is vital.
Treatment for Advanced Stage
Special contact lenses are used to deal with this stage. These lenses are customized with an elevated curve to fit your eye better.
Two ideal options are large mini scleral or rigid gas-permeable lenses. These lenses create a space for tears, making them more comfortable.
In this stage, your cornea gets extremely thin and scarred, affecting your vision. Even special stiff lenses won’t work well at this stage. They can be uncomfortable and hard to fit.
If you are at this stage, a corneal transplant by a skilled surgeon is the finest option to restore your vision.
Treatment for Severe Stage
Corneal transplants, where a surgeon replaces your damaged cornea with a healthy one, can heal your vision. Early treatment with corneal cross-linking can prevent keratoconus from getting to this stage. So, if you’re diagnosed sooner, there’s a great chance you may not require a transplant.
Keratoconus Symptoms
Astigmatism and nearsightedness are common keratoconus symptoms. This can cause frequent changes in your glasses prescriptions. People dealing with this condition might also be concerned by light sensitivity and glare, especially at night.
In later phases, glasses might not work correctly anymore. Professionals can detect keratoconus early with a regular eye test. These tests check the shape and thickness of your cornea.
Warning signs of keratoconus
- Trouble seeing properly, even with glasses at the eye doctor’s machine (phoropter).
- Changes in your blurry vision, even at different angles.
- Frequent requirement for new glasses prescriptions as your eye prescription keeps on changing.
Need help with keratoconus symptoms? Clear Vision Eye Centre in Mumbai is here to help! We treat many eye issues, including cataracts, keratoconus, and glaucoma. Dr. Vinay K Agrawal leads the team and is known as a trusted eye doctor. We ensure every patient feels comfortable and recovers sooner by offering personalized care.